Macon Radio and TV names from the past

[billelder]

LOL! I've been busy of late and didn't see these posts. There will be those that will tell you I was in radio for 150 years. It was, indeed, only 30. From January 15, 1970 at WMAZ until March 21, 2000 at WAYS.

Kevin Scott is indeed teaching. Bob Raleigh and I worked together at 'NEX and he tried to get me to take Rick Knight's place when he left WDEN. I respectfully declined the initiation. Jack Randolph is an author now. Danny Ratcliff has passed away. His daughter, Nancy Sports now sells for 13WMAZ. Jimmy Lee is at the Georgia Farm Bureau. Steve Malone has retired from there. Darell Smith sells for 13WMAZ and you hear his fine voice on promos and commercials there. Mary Therese is Executive Director 21st Century Partnership in Warner Robins. I ran into Mike Sharp at Kroger one afternoon. He used to work for the Georgia Academy for the Blind. I wasn't paying close attention to what he was doing now because I had two packages of Depends under my arms for my mom. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[kenglish]

Hey, Bill...

You commented, over on another thread, that someone ought to build a retirement home with control rooms in it, for old DJ's.

Wonder if GMHOF would build a studio, and all the old guys could run it. Put it out on the HD2 channels of any southeast states FM stations that wanna carry it. Just play oldies and Southern Rock ("Georgia's music").

Then, maybe some satellite company would pick it up, too.

 

[justinatlanta87]

That is a great story about Fred. You know, back in the early 70's if it wore sequence it was "country." If it had long hair and blue jeans it was "southern rock." If it had both it was Jerry Reed. ;D (rimshot) (jingle) (record)

Ben Sandifer did mornings at WNEX and gave us those memorable characters like Ned Reckerson and Captain Big that got me out of bed every morning. He now is President of GMS Productions.

Paul Peyton, aka Paul Beliveau had a huge influence on me. Of course he went on the give Middle Georgia the best radio news it ever had. He's now the head of the Information Department / Public Relations of the Georgia Farm Bureau and is seen weekly state wide and on national cable / satellite on the Georgia Farm Monitor.

Tom Healey became an Episcopal priest and moved back up north. He co-hosted an oldies morning show when we last found him about 7 years ago.

Ted Clark (Bryant Omar Scruggs) is deceased. When I worked at WNEX at 16 he and his wife, Linda, had a pet monkey. I went to Beautiful Lake Lowe to do my Saturday night shift and the monkey was perched on the door sill. When I entered the control room the animal jumped on my head. ;D

Jerry Walker (Lamar Studstill) did mornings at WNEX and later owned several radio stations.

Ben O'Brien (Ron Wildman) did mornings at WNEX. In 1970, when I was first hired at WMAZ radio, he had just been hired in the news room. He later went on to do television news and is now works for the Mayor of Macon.

Aaron Bowers was working midnights at WNEX when we first met in 1970. I believed he had just returned from military service in Viet Nam. He later went on to become a successful program director at WDEN and now owns his own ad agency.

Gary Guntor worked at WMAZ in high school and left there to work at WSB. He eventually worked for Georgia Power and now does freelance work.

Joel Godard went on to work as a staff announcer for NBC and is Conan O'Brien's announcer for the show, "Late Nite." He is also the announcer for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC as well as many voiceover projects.

And speaking of that...Miss X, of the WNEX Community Bulletin Board, is Peggy Lindsey who happens to be Joel's cousin. One of the most talented copy writers to come down the pike.

Pete Konenkamp did news at WBML, WNEX, WMAZ and later for the Georgia Radio News Network in Atlanta. He is now Public Relations Director for the University Of Georgia.

George Jobin was the first man to do a radio broadcast from the new WMAZ studios on the Gray HighwaMmacon bureau of Georgia Public Broadcasting after managing WMGT and Fox 24.

Laura Bloodworth (Laura Worth) worked at WBML in high school and later went on to do news at WBML, WMAZ and Z108. She later became PD there. She now has her own jewelry store on Vineville.

I believe I heard that Buddy Wheeler had passed away. Somebody please tell me I'm wrong.

That's all I can do now. I need coffee!!!

George Jobin can now be seen every friday night on The Highlight Zone on ABC Macon @ 11:20

 

[jim zinn]

Hello to all the radio folk from Macon!

This is Jim Zinn, and as to Ben Sandifer's query I'm alive and doing well in Ashland,Oregon.(thanks for asking Bill.)

I've just discovered this sight and it's been really great to see all the names. People like Steve Malone, Paul Beliveau, Oscar Leverette,
Bill Elder, Irene Ray, Ben Sandifer and more. And of course there was Bill Powell. Bill was my mentor. Although, at the time, I didn't Know it. He taught me
quite a lot about broadcasting that I carried with me always. I owe him.

I was sorry to hear about the passing of Skip Holmes and Jim Pryor, a good friend. Also, Jerry Jackson, another good friend, passed
away in early September in Rockmart,GA

As for me, I've been in the Northwest since leaving Macon in 1978. Landed in Salem, OR and programmed KSLM for 5 years. From there
I worked at KINK-fm in Portland. In 1987 we moved to Medford, Oregon and progammed a country station, KRWQ til 2001 when I retired from radio.

My wife, Carol, went back to school became a Doctor of Ed. and is a professor at Southern Oregon Univ. in Ashland.

I have a step-son and grandsons in Laurens Co. so I hope to get back sometime soon. I would lve to see you all!

Best to You,
Jim Zinn

 

[kyscott]

I was sorry to hear about the passing of Skip Holmes and Jim Pryor, a good friend. Also, Jerry Jackson, another good friend, passed
away in early September in Rockmart,GA

Hey, wait a minute.....when did Jim pass??

 

[billelder]

Jim Pryor died May of 2005. (I had to look it up..I ain't Daryll Smith, ya know!) I last spoke to him shortly after he had another stroke. We knew each other from the old WNEX days when I was 16 years old. Oh, the classic "Pryor" lines I could tell. He had a great sense of humor and was so very talented. Do you remember how good he was anchoring 41 News?

 

[kyscott]

Jim Pryor died May of 2005. (I had to look it up..I ain't Daryll Smith, ya know!) I last spoke to him shortly after he had another stroke. We knew each other from the old WNEX days when I was 16 years old. Oh, the classic "Pryor" lines I could tell. He had a great sense of humor and was so very talented. Do you remember how good he was anchoring 41 News?

In the words of Lewis M Grizzard Jr, a great American, "Elvis is dead and I don't feel to good myself".

 

[kenglish]

I saw my copy of Jim's obit recently. It's at home in some papers.

I remember Jim from WNEX, when I did "Teen Topics". Wish he had left me his voice ;D .

 

[BSteve]

Hey Jim Zinn:
I wondered what ever happened to you after you left WMAZ. Good to hear you are doing okay.
I'm retired, too, after anchoring a Farm Show on TV for 18 or so years. Now I just cut grass , chase grandkids , sit around and remember the good old days. I don't think I could do radio the way it's done now. It wouldn't be fun.
Keep in touch with us.

 

[kyscott]

I don't think I could do radio the way it's done now. It wouldn't be fun.

It's not.

 

[kenglish]

Jim Pryor died May of 2005. (I had to look it up..I ain't Daryll Smith, ya know!) I last spoke to him shortly after he had another stroke. We knew each other from the old WNEX days when I was 16 years old. Oh, the classic "Pryor" lines I could tell. He had a great sense of humor and was so very talented. Do you remember how good he was anchoring 41 News?

I wonder if there's any old video? Somebody could put it on YouTube.

 

[Diamondtwo]

<<Hey, Bill...

You commented, over on another thread, that someone ought to build a retirement home with control rooms in it, for old DJ's.

Wonder if GMHOF would build a studio, and all the old guys could run it. Put it out on the HD2 channels of any southeast states FM stations that wanna carry it. Just play oldies and Southern Rock ("Georgia's music").

Then, maybe some satellite company would pick it up, too.>

I'm in...

But then again, I'm not as old as Elder... (sorry, Bill, couldn't resist).

TDO

 

[billelder]

DD,
LOL!!! You are correct and I take no offense. I am older than you...and I'm looking more and more ancient by the hour!

Maybe you meant the GRHOF building the studios. John Long and the folks would do it right! The Induction event was awesome. I hadn't seen John Young in years. He did such great work for us at WAYS. And, McKee was there! I was, however, surprised to find out that Ludlow Porch was not actually a real porch. You need to join if you haven't. And, you don't need to be a DJ or anything. (How do you think they let ME join?)

Get by when you can.

 

[Diamondtwo]

Actually, Bill, I was quoting from another post. I'm sure John Long and the GRHOF folks could pull something like that off. And you know a great place to put something like that would be in the GMHOF.

... or maybe it's just the cold medicine making me hallucinate.

TDO

 

[kyscott]

Actually, Bill, I was quoting from another post. I'm sure John Long and the GRHOF folks could pull something like that off. And you know a great place to put something like that would be in the GMHOF.

I'll donate my engineering, um, "expertise" to build it. Maybe do a search for an LPFM frequency we could use in Macon and have our own radio station since HD radio is pretty much DOA.

... or maybe it's just the cold medicine making me hallucinate.

Before I'd work on the transmitter at channel 13, I found it helpful to do shots of NiQuil.

 

[jim zinn]

Hey Steve Malone,

Happy to hear from you and I'm glad to know you're doing well.

I guess I should say that I'm retired from broadcasting. I'm doing internet business and am playing drums
in a band here in southern Oregon. Mostly for fun but we do manage to get a paying gig once or twice a
month.

You're absolutley correct on the sorry state of radio. Deregulation and technology took care of that.

Do you know what happened to Steve Murphy or Linda Grimes?

Stay in touch,
Jim Zinn

 

[Ben Sandifer]

Hey Jim Zinn,
Great to hear you're still around. Last I heard Murph was in North Carolina, seems like it was Asheville. I don't know what happened to Linda Grimes. I probably last saw her 15 years ago. She had a great job with Turner at the time, but I tried to call her there recently and they acted like they'd never heard of her. I work with Wayne Lyde on a regular basis. He retired from WMAZ a couple years ago but still does great still & video photography. I hear from Del Ward on a regular basis. She's a spokesperson for one of my clients. And I ran into Donna Self, Sarah Hunnicutt and Mary Corbitt at a funeral recently. Keep in touch and shoot me your email address. I have something else you might be interested in.
Mine is [email protected]

 

[BSteve]

Jim:
I talked to Murph a year or so ago and he was in Ashville, NC. Not in radio at the time.
I haven't heard from him since. Was up that way last month, but didn't see his name in the phone book so he may have moved.

I may be wrong on this, but I think I saw an obit on Linda a year or so ago.

 

[kturnerga]

Ah my forty year-old brain is in motion thanks to you folks.

How about the market in Warner Robins and Peach County
Mark McCoy (WRBN, WAYS)
Chuck Wallace (WQBZ even when it was back of the grocery store in Fort Valley. preferred WQBZ to WAYS since it was old school style radio and was for a younger demographic).
Nathan Hale (WRBN, WQBZ)
Steven Kane (WQBZ)
Michelle (I have aircheck of her; WQBZ)
Tony Rod (Rodriguez) (WQBZ; parents ran station in Eighties)
JJ McCartney (WQBZ "Dr. Fresh", WDEN)
Deena Richards (WRBN)

I'll think of some more names. I like the idea of an internet/low power/FM radio staton with old timers playing oldies/Southern Rock. Even if it's someone doing it "old school DJ" style that isn't an old timer I say go for it!

To those of you with Clear Channel I wish to thank you for WQBZ being the favorite of Windsor Academy's Class of '84.

KT

 

[grhof]

KT, would you consider donating copies of your old airchecks to our archives?
COntact us at: [email protected].